Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an outboard motor, and more particularly, to an outboard motor in which a shift unit for switching a shift position is provided in the middle of a drive shaft that transmits rotational power from an engine to a propeller shaft.
Description of the Related Art
A typical outboard motor has a shift unit that switches a shift position. In Patent Document 1, there is discussed an outboard motor having a shift unit arranged across a propulsion unit casing and an upper casing arranged thereover.
However, in terms of workability in assembling works for a casing of the outboard motor or maintenance, it is desirable to provide a structure easily accessible to each part of a shift unit. For example, each part of the shift unit is provided with bearings for rotatably supporting various rotational shafts such as a drive shaft. For this reason, it is necessary to apply a predetermined preload to such bearings, and in some cases, this preload may be adjusted in the maintenance. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a structure having excellent workability. However, the configuration discussed in Patent Document 1 fails to consider such workability.